Monday Serie A Live Stream: Lazio and Inter clash in a bid to get New Year off to a better start
Lazio are slight 6/4 favourites to beat Inter Milan as both sides look to get the New year off to a good start meanwhile Napoli look to close the gap to the top two with a win against Sampdoria.
2013 wasn’t the kindest of years for both Lazio and Inter Milan and both side will hope to get 2014 off to a good start with a win against their high-profile opposition.
Since winning the Coppa Italia in May, Lazio have struggled for consistency in the league and their problems have left them sitting in 10th place and one of five clubs stuck on 20 points in the title.
| Lazio |  |
6/4 |
| Draw |  |
12/5 |
| Inter |  |
11/5 |
The hosts will be without Stefano Mauri who is still suspended for his involvement in a match-fixing scandal whilst Emiliano Alfaro will also miss out due to a recurring knee injury.
Lazio will be some reason to be confident about their chances having won four out of their last six encounters against Inter in the league.
Inter are enjoying a much better campaign than last year but find themselves in fifth place and six points off a Champions League qualification spot.
Despite the two week break, Walter Mazzari’s side are still struggling somewhat with injuries with Christian Chivu, Saphir Taider and Diego Milito all out through injury.
The game could also mark one of the last times that Fredy Guarin is seen in an Inter top with the Colombian striker a major target for Chelsea in the January transfer window.
Monday’s other top game sees Napoli look to try and capitalise on the Juventus vs Roma clash and close the gap to the top two with a win against struggling Sampdoria.
Napoli are currently sitting in third place in the league but find themselves a staggering nine points off the leaders at the halfway stage of the season.
Rafael Benitez will have a full squad to choose from in their first game back in 2014 meaning that Gonzalo Higuain and Goran Pandev are likely to start and cause problems for Sampdoria right from the first whistle.
Sampdoria have been flirting with the relegation zone all season long but three wins back to back has seen them rise to 14th in the table and move four points clear of the relegation zone.
With no major problems to worry about, boss Sinisa Mihajlovic will look to some of his more experienced players such as Angelo Palombo and Renan to help try and get a result from the Stadio San Paolo.
Both Lazio and Inter Milan still have strong European ambitions and both sides will hope that a win will help them achieve their goals by the end of the year.
